THE JOHN THORNTON YOUNG ACHIEVERS FOUNDATION
Registered Charity No: 1125277

Manley is an Ambassador of the John Thornton Young Achievers Trust and is proud to be so. “John was an inspirational young man who grabbed life by both horns and lived it to the full. This foundation, in honour of his attitude to life, is to help others achieve.” Says Manley

The John Thornton Young Achievers Foundation (JTYAF) aims to advance the lives of local young people. This is accomplished through the provision of financial assistance for especially, but not exclusively, leisure time activities and pursuits, so as to develop their capabilities in order to see them grow to full maturity as individuals and members of society.

ABOUT THE JTYAF
The Foundation was established in 2008 to honour the memory of John Thornton, a young Royal Marines Officer from Ferndown who was tragically killed, at the age of 22, whilst serving in Afghanistan.  Having achieved a tremendous amount in his short but remarkable life, including a flight with the Red Arrows, qualifying as a freefall skydiver and travelling across New Zealand, the Thornton family decided that the provision of opportunities for local young people to achieve both their ambitions and potential in life would be a fitting legacy that John would have been immensely proud of.

Working initially with Ferndown Upper School, the Dorset & Wiltshire Wing of the Air Cadets, and the nationally recognised Air Cadets Junior Leaders course, the JTYAF awarded over £9000 in bursaries and scholarships to young people in its first year of operation.  The young achievers who attained the awards were selected for their demonstration of the Foundation’s key values: courage, determination, unselfishness and cheerfulness in adversity.  Following massive fundraising support both locally and nationally, further expansion is planned that will see the award of a significantly higher number of bursaries and scholarships across an even wider range of local youth organisations in the Foundation’s second year.  The JTYAF have allocated £36,000 for awards in 2010 to advance the lives of young people from the Girl Guides, the Scouts, the Dorset Music Service, the Dorset Fire and Rescue Cadets and young employees from Sainsbury’s in Ferndown, in addition to the three core organisations, Ferndown Upper School, the Dorset and Wilts Wing of the Air Cadets and the Air Cadet Junior Leaders. 
Thanks to the overwhelming support of the board of trustees and ambassadors, our patron Simon Weston OBE, and the incredible backing of the local community, the JTYAF has already succeeded in the provision of opportunities for many local young people to fulfil their dreams in life and to really develop as individuals.  In an age where young people can be commonly misconceived as causing only trouble for society, we thrive on proving that there are some amazing youngsters out there who, given the opportunity, can make a genuine difference to not only their own lives, but also to those of other individuals and to the wider community. 

For further information please see the Foundations web site www.jtyaf.org